Syrian refugees are selling their organs to survive in Lebanon

According to an investigation published by the BBC Tuesday, Illegal organ trafficking has surged in Lebanon over the past few years as Syrian refugees resort to selling parts of their body to support themselves and their families.

The investigation is based on an interview with a trafficker known as Abu Jaafar, who brokers deals from a coffee shop in Beirut.

Speaking to BBC journalist Alex Forsyth, Abu Jaafar says, "I exploit people, that's what I do," adding that while he knows that his "booming" business is illegal, he sees it as a way to help people in need.

Since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, at least 1.5 million refugees have poured into Lebanon. 

Many have no legal right to work, and are therefore forced to resort to extreme measures to survive.

Abu Jaafar acts as a middleman, and has found willing clients and delivered them blindfolded to a location where a doctor performs surgery to remove one of their organs.

While most have resorted to selling their kidneys, the trafficker says he  found a client willing to sell his eye.

Abu Jaafar also explains that he takes care of donors for the duration of a week after the surgery, but after that, they are on their own.

"The moment they lose the stitches we don't care what happens to them any longer," Abu Jaafar tells the BBC. 

"I don't really care if the client dies, I got what I wanted. It's not my problem what happens next as long as the client got paid."

Abu Jaafar refuses to reveal how much he makes from each deal and says that he doesn't know what happens to organs after the surgeries, but believes they're exported.

According to the UN's refugee agency, the number of Syrian refugees who have left Syria for neighboring countries now tops 5 million. Six years into the Syrian conflict, the statistics reflect a devastating reality that instigated calls for more serious action.

The UN has recently called on world leaders to act with more urgency towards the crisis, especially in Europe. 

The "UN high commissioner for refugees urged Europeans to do more to help share a burden that is still largely falling on countries bordering Syria, such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, with more in Iraq and Egypt," The Guardian said.